NOVEL SEMICONDUCTING NANOCRYSTALS FOR CANCER DETECTION

该项目的总体目标是开发新型半导体纳米晶体(NC，或量子 点(QD))，将作为高效、稳定、生物兼容的体内早期标签 癌症的检测。在之前的研究中，我们已经开发了QD，并随后在体内测试了它们 在癌症方面的应用。虽然这些材料比有机荧光染料有很多优点，但它也 很明显，含有CD的材料不太可能适合临床使用。出于这些原因，我们有 开发了新型的纳米材料，这些材料在生物应用方面前景看好。此外，我们正在 将这些QD和其他QD的功能扩展到靶向、终身和多模式成像。许多. 适合生物的材料将以多价和多价形式连接到NC上的亲和配体为基础 表格。从本质上讲，该项目将为CCNE创造一个高度新颖的无机纳米材料工具箱 财团。具体目标是1)合成、表征和功能化一类新的生物 基于生物惰性构建块(GaN、InGaN和Si)稳定NC，2)合成和 开发寿命延长(100 Ns)的新型无机半导体异质结构NC和 高质量以产生更有效的活体诊断，3)开发将具有双重功能的“智能”NC 功能，例如磁性和荧光纳米颗粒或金属和半导体，可能是 用作动态传感器，4)开发纳米颗粒，这种纳米颗粒具有更高的价态 生物配体使得更多的短肽配体可以结合到感兴趣的细胞表面， 并且仍然保持总体高亲和力(多价性)，并且b)具有多种不同的生物配体 贴在相同的纳米标签(多价)上，并测试新开发的 纳米材料在小鼠癌症模型中的应用。

The overall goal of this project is to develop new classes of semiconducting nanocrystals (NC, or quantum dots (QD)) that will function as highly efficient, stable, biologically compatible in vivo tags for the early detection of cancer. In prior research we have developed QD and subsequently tested them for in vivo applications in cancer. While these materials have many advantages over organic fluorochromes, it has also become clear that Cd containing materials will unlikely be suited for clinical use. For these reasons we have developed novel NC materials that appear highly promising for biological applications. In addition, we are extending the functionality of these and other QD for targeted, lifetime and multimodality imaging. Many of the biologically suited materials will be based on affinity ligands attached to NC in multivalent and polyvalent forms. In essence this project will create a toolbox of highly novel, inorganic nanomaterials for this CCNE consortium. The specific aims are to 1) synthesize, characterize and functionalize a new class of biological stable NC that are based on biologically inert building blocks (GaN, InGaN, and Si), 2) synthesize and develop new types of inorganic semiconductor heterostructured NC with increased (100 ns) lifetimes and high quantum to yield more efficient in vivo diagnostics, 3) develop functional "smart" NC that will have dual functions, for example magnetic and fluorescent nanoparticles or metal and semiconductors that could be used as dynamic sensors, 4) develop nanoparticles that are functionalized with a) increased valency of biological ligands such that higher number of shorter peptides ligands can bind to the cell surface of interest, and still maintain an overall high affinity (multivalency) and b) have multiple different biological ligands attached to the same nanoparticle tag (polyvalency) and 5) test the efficacy and toxicity of newly developed nanomaterials in mouse models of cancer.